Blame Mexico

President Trump is moving to impose escalating tariffs on Mexican imports to force that government to take a harder line to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States.

So, using tariffs to make the Mexican government keep its people prisoner as opposed to using tariffs in a trade dispute. Isn’t that kind of…nuts? Apart from the whole tariffs a really bad idea thing, I mean? Aren’t they supposed to be about trade and nothing else?

Trump has said he is imposing the tax to punish Mexico for not doing enough to stop illegal immigration. Tens of thousands of Central Americans, mostly from Guatemala and Honduras and usually traveling with smugglers, journey through Mexico each month. U.S. officials say Mexico is not doing enough to secure its southern border with Guatemala or to crack down on the private bus companies that ferry migrants through the country, usually accompanied by their smugglers.

But tariffs aren’t supposed to be a way to punish countries for just any old damn thing, are they? Did I skip school the day they taught that?

The White House has yet to explain exactly how driving up the cost of Mexican goods could stem the flow of migration. Many experts say they believe the tariffs could actually have the opposite effect: If the tariffs damage the Mexican economy, more people may try to cross the border in search of work in the United States.

12 Responses to “Blame Mexico”

But surely if Mexico suffers economically, that will make them more effective at preventing people from entering the US, and it will make Mexicans less likely to try to enter the US. This guy’s got something.

If the tariffs damage the Mexican economy, more people may try to cross the border in search of work in the United States.

When supply exceeds demand, prices of whatever is being supplied go down. When that supply is a glut of migrant workers, employers can pay even less for their services. This is, of course, excellent news for Trump, because his golf resorts and hotels can really slash their wage bills and so increase profits.

Hang on. What am I saying? There’s no way DJT would make policies in order to boost his own company’s profits. Not Honest Don.

Speaking of his stupidity, here’s Trump on Boris Johnson, with a steaming pile of nonsensical self-aggrandizement.

On Johnson, Trump said: “I like him. I have always liked him. I don’t know that he is going to be chosen, but I think he is a very good guy, a very talented person. He has been very positive about me and our country. Trump said other candidates had approached him in a bid to secure his endorsement: “Other people have asked me for an endorsement, too. I have been asked for endorsements. I could help anybody if I endorse them. I mean, we’ve had endorsement where they have gone up for 40, 50 points at a shot.

So forgive my ignorance, but Trump’s toughguy stance on immigration is to charge Americans more for things that come from Mexico?

I know we are no longer in a world where anything makes any sense at all, but that doesn’t make any sense at all.

Or, rather, we can each make up our own fictional consequences. I, for example, prefer to make up the conclusion that American companies will choose to manufacture stuff on their own instead of buying it from Mexico, so they will hire ever increasing numbers of Mexicans to do the actual work.

latsot @ 9 – well Trump thinks or pretends to think that the tariffs are something Mexico pays to the US. Everybody keeps telling him no, they’re not, they’re a tax on the people in the US who buy the products, but they might as well piss on a volcano.

Tariffs are one of Trump’s favorite tools right now, because he can impose them without approval from Congress or any judicial oversight (so far, at least). If he could put tariffs on immigration, abortions, or “voting while black” he would.

No oversight from other branches is why he’s also enjoying abusing the pardon power and “Medal of Freedom” recently for the same reason.